Emporio Armani
MILAN, February 24, 2004
By
With a video of skyscrapers flickering behind them, Giorgio Armani's new Emporio women marched out. They're a far cry from his serious, be-suited, go-to-work army of old, though; they may be business types, but they're still in the mood to face the day feeling, well, considerably foxier than the average straight-laced corporate recruit.Crimped hair, dangly earrings, and high heels were the ever-so-slightly trashy foil for Armani's signature softly-tailored coats, rounded in the shoulder and flared at the hem. Biker jackets in pony and mid-calf flippy skirts replaced his more familiar office-proper suitings. As the collection headed toward evening, a Spanish Gypsy element cropped up in head scarves and heavy tasselled fringe on stoles and knits. The show ended with a burst of song from a young woman performer, Yu Yu—a lead-in to the music-business party Armani was to throw later that evening at his nightclub. Though some of the design specifics of the collection didn't gel, Armani's message was clear: He's in a mood to lighten up and let his women look as if they want to live a little.
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